I train in a nice space these days, it cost too much but it is a good spot. I think that it really doesn’t mater where you train as long as you train. The memories of the training will make your training space special to you.

Here’s my first training space in Banff. Primitive it was, a poorly heated garage bay.Snow drifted under the door in blizzards. It’s used by carpenters to store cement making materials. We had to sweep the floor before each workout to remove the lime, sand , rock, and nails.

One winter we shared the space with a Hudson Bay boat. Another winter we shared it with a leaky sucker truck. That’s the year we started wearing shoes.

Eventually we were crowded out of the first space and we moved to a new garage bay. It worked out to be a better spot for a few years. The light was better and it was slightly cleaner.

The makiwara is a new addition back when I trained with other folks here I didn't have one.

The dojo only had one skidoo back then. Marcus it was here that Jean-Guy developed his irrational fear of skidoos. Back then their was only one skidoo we have six of them now. Jean-Guy is now afraid to come through the door. Remember a dojo without a skidoo is just a dance studio. ::multi:

I spent hours here teaching boxing, the heavy bag next door was handy.

Thanks mate! I suspect most Uechika won’t see the beauty of the filthy industrial dojo’s. But I will always have fond memory’s of those years. Those were the years were I trained alone without the benefit of any sensei. I took a student, a big weight lifter and together we dismantled kata. We spent our time testing theory. Boxing and seeing how many new ways we could discover to mess each other up. Jean-guy got hit more than any student should, but over the 4 years we trained he developed some solid skills. I guess his tuition was being my meat puppet while I tested my beliefs.

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Nice new bag too !!!!

Hey my loved ones were good to me this past Christmas. I still miss the old black leather bag with the ring of duct tape. Ryan has it now out on the coast. I hope he’s getting some use out of it.

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and makiwara

yeah mate, no dancing in that room . I’ve got two of them, one in the skidoo room and one at the Y. Got to toughen up if I’m going to keep playing with Randy…He’s a monster.

The rented dojo has great light. It’s a nice space. Floor is tough, cement with tile on top. Rick let me have his old mats so we now can do throws and take downs without killing the newbies! Photo doesn’t do it justice. I took it off a video clip. The space is called the training center by the Y.

We set up a makawara on the deck on the outside of the dojo, so I guess we are not a dance studio….then again we don’t have any skidoos so we might be.

In the winter months we are displaced from the training center and moved to a different spot.Here is an outside view of the winter dojo.

Kind of strange , low light and plush carpet with underlay. Just doesn’t feel right…but it’s good for ground work so I explore more of the mat in the winter.

They just move the furniture to the fireplace end when we train. Gives the space a temporary feel, just not our dojo, I was happy to move back to the training center this spring!

The room still doesn’t feel right to me, but I’ll live with it. I’m thinking about putting in a vending machine to augment the revenue stream.

Just kidding, I’m always happy to move back to our regular space, something about carpet just feels wrong.

I think when the dust settles we come to realize that it’s not important where we train, but what we train, and who we train with. You just get to know and respect the people who sacrifice their time and bodies to train with you. Friendships develop! I suspect the folks at GEM’s camp already know this.

That is yours truly on the far left.
The next is Tim, from England, and then we have
Lance, Nathaniel and my little tough guy, Tristan.
I work with the Chickasaw youth Services teaching kids
and young adults. There are more students but some were a bit camera shy .

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